The Congo Election: Indecision 2006

The Congo election has reached a moment of truth. None of the dozens of candidates in the first democratic elections in the DRC in some four decades received a majority of the vote and so Joseph Kabila (who tallied 44.81% of the vote) and warlord Jean-Pierre Bemba (20.03%) will face one another in a runoff that already has inspired violence. The run-off is welcome inasmuch as it will ensure that whoever loses the race will garner a majority and the concomitant legitimacy that accompanies it. One can also hope that the run-off will reveal Bemba, who at one point led in the early vote count, to have little nationwide support. It still is unclear what a Kabila victory will mean in practical terms, but the validation of a (relatively) free and fair election is at least a baby step toward progress. The violence, on the other hand, shows just how far there is yet to go before the Congo is ready to walk on its own.